Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

diamond mining business. Dr. Corbett told participants that Sammy
Collins placed a converted tug in the shallow water that he described as a
very primitive system, with a steel digging head, an airlift, and a trommel
to recover the diamonds. Dr. Corbett stated that he was of the opinion
that this was reconnaissance level work, where an interested party
questions whether any minerals could be found at a location. Following
this event, Dr. Corbett said that very quickly, divers were sent in the water
to study the situation in more detail. He described this stage as similar to
what is currently going on in the deep seabed.
Continuing his narrative on the evolution of the industry, in
particular practices related to the identification of the resource, Dr. Corbett
said that it was quickly recognized that a lot of innovation would be
required in mining these deposits because of the rugged and high-energy
environment in which they occurred. He said that while digging remained
as the option for mining, the systems got larger and the processing plants
became more sophisticated. He said that from those early beginnings
came the expansion of the fleet, and barges were used as totally contained
systems that enabled an operator to have the full extraction and treatment
plant on board (Figure 9). He described as a significant move the use of
media separation plants, non-chemical plants involving the introduction of
ferrosilicon into a cyclone which allows a dense media to be created with
light material floating and heavy material sinking.
He also said that at the same time, it became very apparent that
mineral resource knowledge was going to be key to the sustainability of an
offshore operation. He pointed out that without detailed knowledge of
where the resource is to be found, planning could not take place and a
mining operation could not be sustained. Dr. Corbett showed participants
a slide containing a photograph of the first geophysical vessel to operate in
the waters of the west coast. He said that after the introduction of this
vessel all offshore diamond operations have been utilizing cutting edge
high-resolution geophysics.
Dr. Corbett pointed out that the mining methods changed as well,
and although the digging heads were still used, they became far more
sophisticated in their deployment and it was possible to traverse across the
seafloor over significant areas with them, thereby increasing the rate of
coverage and the profitability of mining operations. Dr. Corbett
summarized his account of what happened by informing participants that
by the late 1960s it became apparent that the industry was going to be a
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 602